Handel’s opera arias have been very well treated on disc; the duets not so generously. This collection should adjust the balance for a couple of reasons. One, the intelligent programming, which features selections not found on its closest competition–the excellent 2004 Virgin Classics release with Joyce DiDonato and Patrizia Ciofi; and two, the first-rate singing that not only captures the full measure of Handel’s theatrical writing but shows how two distinctly different voices can combine to make scintillating, greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts performances. The opening duets from Poro, Orlando, and Radamisto make solid, stand-alone concert numbers, and soprano Sandrine Piau makes a strong technical/stylistic impression in her first solo aria (“Mà chi punir desio”, from Flavio). Not so impressive is contralto Sara Mingardo’s subsequent turn in her Tamerlano aria, where her “ha-ha-ha” melismatic articulation is a distracting turn-off. Some listeners won’t mind, but this kind of lazy technique just makes me cringe.
Fortunately, this is all forgotten when we come to the heart of the recital where Mingardo loses the “ha-ha-ha” affect and makes really memorable music with Piau in the duet from Rinaldo, while a few minutes later she delivers the most moving, heart-rending “Pena tiranna” (from Amadigi di Gaula) ever recorded. Meanwhile, Piau contributes her own stunning performances of solo arias from Alessandro and Ezio.
While it’s easier to accept a solo aria as a performance piece without necessarily having to know much–or anything–about its context in the opera (not that such information doesn’t help our appreciation), the contextual details of a duet are even more crucial to a listener because here we have an interaction between two characters whose motivation is essential to understanding both the musical and dramatic cues. Piau and Mingardo are masters of character and of setting the dramatic mood, and conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini and his Concerto Italiano are ideal partners, whether in setting proper tempos or providing steady rhythmic support, or in laying down a vibrant, richly-colored instrumental foundation for one or both voices. This is exceptional music-making, and an important addition to the Handel opera catalog. [10/17/2011]